What Controls Critical 'Go-to' Enzyme: Findings May Hold Key To Better Treatments For Many Disorders
Thursday, November 20, 2008 - 10:28
in Health & Medicine
Scientists have gained new insights into regulation of one of the body's enzyme workhorses called calpains. As the cell's molecular overachievers, calpains function in many cellular processes, including the movement of cells in tissues, the death of damaged cells, insulin secretion, and brain cell and muscle function. The downside of this broad set of responsibilities is that defective or overactive calpains have been linked to an array of disorders, including a form of muscular dystrophy, Type 2 diabetes, gastric cancers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, cataracts, and the death of both heart muscle in heart attacks and of brain tissue in stroke and traumatic brain injury.